No one comes to the cinema, and that complaint was not unfounded. According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing system, the cumulative audience number for the first half of this year was recorded at 42,497,285. The month with the highest audience was January (8,905,791), while the month with the lowest was April (5,436,905). At this rate, it seems difficult to surpass 100 million audiences by the end of the year. It is rare to see such a decline in cinema attendance. The figure has decreased by more than 20 million compared to last year's 62.93 million, and there is a significant gap compared to 58.39 million in 2023, which can be considered the first year after the COVID pandemic. It is even lower than the 44.94 million right after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. During the pandemic in 2020, there were 32.41 million, and in 2021, there were 20 million. In terms of numbers, this is the lowest since the integrated ticketing system began, marking a 21-year low since 21.82 million in 2004.
The highest-grossing film of the first half was <Opposition Party>, which attracted 3.37 million viewers, recording the highest performance for a film rated for adults since the COVID pandemic and also surpassing the break-even point. The reasons for the decline in audience numbers include the absence of films that attract over 10 million viewers, as well as the emergence of so-called 'warehouse films', which were shot around the time of the COVID pandemic and completed in post-production. Considering that there are no major distribution films scheduled for release this summer and during the Chuseok peak season, it is possible that the audience number will not even reach 90 million. Fortunately, the Korean film industry is hoping for a turnaround starting this summer. The 30 billion won blockbuster <Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint> (directed by Kim Byung-woo), <Zombie Daughter> (starring Jo Jung-seok, directed by Pil Gam-seong), and <The Devil Came to Visit> (directed by Lee Sang-geun, featuring Lim Yoon-a from <Exit>) are all targeting the summer peak season.
